There's something to be said about a series that seems to be angling to be a critique of what is all too common in K-Dramas, or the romantic genre period. Rewarding the asshole, and sweeping their behavior under the rug, because that's what you do or expect.

"Nevertheless" is a fairly frustrating series to watch. The indecisiveness of the lead, and the manipulation of the love interest, made me want to throw objects at my television and computer screen. It was enough that I stopped watching the series in 2021 or so before deciding to resume in 2023.

In one instance, the writing appears self-aware enough not to play into the common cliches of K-Dramas, while at the same time playing right into them. By that I mean, Na-Bi's indecisiveness, or emotional vulnerability, and allowing herself to be strung along by Jae-Eon, while at the same time knowing that none of what's going on between them is sincere in the least (but she wants it to be real).

With Jae-Eon, it's clear that the script wants to play heavily into the "sympathy for the devil" angle with his character. That his reasons for being flighty, mean-spirited, and typically dishonest with the women he's with, is some act of self-protection. But it's hard to feel any empathy for his character when so much of what comes out of his mouth is dishonest or a half-truth. As the series progresses, his poessiveness and minimization of Na-Bi's feelings, and her relationships with other people (other men, really) don't do anything but want me to see her far, far away from him.

The supporting cast all appear to be sounding boards for Na-Bi's conscious and critical thinking skills that she's not using. They all see her going down a real self-destructive path by remaining with Jae-Eon, but they can only tell her how they feel about it, and ask her, "Do you really think this person is being honest with you?" And of course, Na-Bi remains indecisive and chooses not to listen to her instincts, even as Jae-Eon begins to mirror her ex-boyfriend (who made a sculpture of her in a sex position, for public viewing, without her consent) more and more.

The end of the show really seems to bring all the emotional turmoil together in the ninth and tenth episodes, where, after being emotionally yanked around by Jae-Eon, Na-Bi finally snaps and lays down the law. She won't allow this dude to manipulate her anymore, even if he decides to be honest and tell her that he has genuine feelings for her. And, for me, that would've been enough to give this series high markings, a 10/10. A K-Drama that doesn't feed into the bad feedback loop of "asshole gets the girl".

But, the show dismantles itself by pairing Na-Bi and Jae-Eon together in the end. And all because of a plot thread that would make it seem like their relationship is the stuff of "Star-crossed lovers". The show even appears to know that it's absolutely bonkers for Na-Bi to be with Jae-Eon. A line by the way of "I'll worry about that later" only seems to exist to dismiss arguments.

Overall, despite some stellar performances, the writing lets down what might've been a pretty solid drama. It's fairly reflective of the idea that something in the culture of South Korea really doesn't want to hold assholes like Jae-Eon accountable, because, not unlike the United States, so many of those types are the ones that get idolized as the ideal person.